The Eye of the Beholder
by Evidence
Summary: A simple scratched cornea creates chaos for Jack and Sam when Jack decides he needs to help her.


Title: The Eye of the Beholder

Author: Evidence

Rating: PG

Author's Notes: A little simple J/S story.  The medical knowledge is true (if anyone has had it ever happen to them, you know it hurts!)

He was just grabbing himself a cup of coffee when he noticed her hand on her head.  She was leaning over her desk using the hand as some sort of support.

"Sam, tell me what's wrong."  He sat down beside her and placed the empty coffee cup on her desk.

"Oh, nothing, I just poked myself in the eye." He noticed then that she was actually covering her eye not her forehead.  

"Let me see," Jack said with a slight smile.

She moved her hand and revealed a watery, closed eye.  

"You poked it with your finger?  Can you open it at all?"

"Only for a few seconds.  God, I feel like I'm being such a baby about this."  

"Which finger?"  He picked up her right hand in his own.

"Jack…" she started, noticing Martin had just entered the office area.

"Just tell me which finger."  He gave her the look he always did when he wanted her to listen to him.

"Wrong hand.  Index finger."  She watched Martin look at them with her good eye although that was beginning to water slightly, too.

Jack observed the index finger.  "You have a jagged nail here.  Sam, I think you scratched your cornea."

Sam was taken back.  "My cornea!  Jack that sounds serious."

"Don't worry a few medicinal eye drops and you'll be fine. It hurts like hell doesn't it."

She sighed.  "Yeah, like someone is playing the drums on my head."

"You need to go to your eye doctor."

"Oh, I don't have one anymore."

He realized then.  "Ah, yes Dr. Fred, forgot for a minute."

"I'll be fine, really."

"Sam, I'll bring you to my eye doctor."

"How do you know so much about scratched corneas?"

He looked at the empty coffee cup.  "Marie had one a few years back.  She got sand in her eye at Cape Cod."

"Oh…"

He shifted position in the chair.  The awkwardness hung in the air between them.  "Let me bring you to the doctor."

"I can drive myself."  She smiled as she said it although the thought of  Marie was leaving a sour taste in her mouth.

"You can't drive partially blinded, Sam.  Come on lets go."  He got up and she followed suit.  Jack gently helped her into her black coat and made her wait as he grabbed his from his office.

Martin was waiting for them by the elevators.  "Guys, is there a new case?"

"No," Jack said plainly pressing the elevator button.

"Oh, then where are you two off to?"  Martin had a sarcastic grin applied to his face.  A grin of someone making innuendos.  

"None of your damn business!"

"Jack…" Sam started but was stopped as the elevator doors slid open and Jack grabbed her elbow and helped her inside.

The last image they saw was of Martin standing, staring with a hateful look.

"I don't know what you were thinking of."  Sam's pain was increasing with the headache she felt brewing.  "He's not dumb, he is going to figure it all out."

"Figure what out- my relationship with you is not privy to anyone especially Martin Fitzgerald!  He can dream up whatever he likes but it doesn't matter."  He watched the cars ahead of them slowly crawling along.

"What if he goes to Daddy with the information.  His father could cause you a lot of problems, Jack.  He already dislikes you."

"He won't go to his father.  Martin's mad because he likes you; it's just pure jealousy.  He'll get over you and find someone else."  Jack winked at her.

"I hope that was a wink I thought I saw.  I hope I'm not easy to get over."  Sam smiled lightly.  "Jack, we need to be careful.  I know that we stopped our…"  She wasn't sure what to call it.  Affair seemed so tasteless and not a true representation of their relationship.

"That is exactly it Sam, the past is in the past."  He was sorry he said it the minute it came out.

With a lump in her throat she responded, "Yeah, your right.  Its over and done."

Was she just saying that because of his statement or did she really mean it?  He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.  "Oh, here's my doctor's office."

Jack pulled into a parking space.  In silence they walked into the building.  

The receptionist directed them to a small doctor's office equipped with large pictures of eyeballs.  "The doctor will be with you as soon as he can."

"That was quick service."  Sam laughed despite herself.

"Scratched corneas take persistent over regular eye exams."  Jack said walking around the room.

"You don't have to stay."  She tried to say it without any emotion.

"I want to stay."  He took a magazine off the doctor's counter and began scanning it.  "Oh, look at this fish."  He showed Sam the picture.

"It's kind of blurry."

Jack chuckled.

The door swung open and an older man came in.  "Ah, Jack now nice to see you, I didn't know you were here."  His eyes swung from Jack to the blonde in the patient's chair.  "You are Samantha Spade?"  He looked at his chart seeing if it would answer any other questions he had like: who is this woman and why is she with Jack."

"Yes, thank you for seeing me."  She extended her hand but he didn't shake it.

"Doctor Mendel, Sam scratched her cornea."  Jack pointed to the defective eye.

"Oh, so you've gone to medical school now, huh?"  Dr. Mendal laughed.  "Well let me see."  He shined a light into Sam's eye and pulled back.  "You are correct.  Let me give you some eye drops that will clear up that cut soon.  You can't drive for a couple of days."

"Guess I'll be taking the subway then."  Sam smiled.

"I'll pick you up."  Jack put his hand on her shoulder.

The doctor gave Jack a look, put some of the meds into Sam's eye and handed her a bottle of the eye drops for her to use.  He said his goodbyes but seemed detached to Jack, a man he had known for twenty years.  Jack could guess the reason.  Dr. Mendal wasn't stupid.  Jack's marriage was over and now he was bringing woman to the eye doctor.  The doctor headed out with Jack and Sam on his heals.  That was when Sam walked into a dour looking woman.

"Marie!"  Jack was aghast.

Marie looked to Jack and then at the woman.  "Hello, Jack."  She said stiffly.

"Is something wrong with the girls?"

"No," she shook her head, "I'm here for me."

She was waiting, he knew, for him to ask her if there was something wrong with her.  He wasn't going to do that, especially not in front of Sam.

"Aren't you going to introduce me."  Marie turned her attention to Sam.  "Hi, I'm Marie, Jack's wife."  She extended a hand and wore a sickly smile.

Jack shifted weight on his feet and wondered how Sam was going to react.

Sam took her hand and shook it.  "Actually we've meet at Christmas parties, I work with Jack, Samantha Spade."

"We've met?"  Marie tried to think back.

"Yes, I think you were a little too…um…toasted to remember."  Sam put on her best fake smile.

Jack groaned internally.

"Well, goodbye Jack, Ms. Spade."  Marie began venturing down the hall.

Jack called to her.  "Marie."

She turned.

"Ex-wife not wife anymore."  Taking Sam's elbow he maneuvered her out of the building.

The apartment was so inviting, warm and comfortable.  He looked into it longingly as he stood on her threshold.

"Thanks for driving me home."  Sam bit her lip and continued.  "Do you want to come in?"

"Sam…"

"You know if you're thirsty or hungry or anything…"  She tried to suppress the gulp in her throat.  He had made a point of saying goodbye to Marie in front of her, of closing that door.  Could their relationship now continue?

Jack avoided her eyes.  "I don't think that would be a good idea."

"Right…"

He turned around then and headed the way he came.  Sam went to the window staring out at the blurry scenery.  She saw him pause and look up at her.  She wished for him to come back, to come back to the apartment they she thought of as theirs not hers.  He was staring at her.  Then he turned around.  Her heart leaped and she moved quickly to the door.

"Hi," he started, as he got back upstairs.

"Hi."

"Look you're going to need a ride for a while so let me pick you up tomorrow morning, okay?"

She tried to hide her disappointment.  "Sure, thanks."

"Don't thank me, I'm glad to do it."  He moved his hand up and wiped underneath the sore eye.  "The eye drops are leaving a goopy mess."  He looked down at his fingers now smeared with the stuff.  "You know seeing I'm going to be coming here to pick you up, I could bring you breakfast.  We could eat it together."

Sam smiled brightly.  "I would like that."

"Good," He felt the flush of excitement.  "You really shouldn't be operating the stove."

"Well, I still have to make dinner tonight."  

"Yeah…"

They both stood looking at each other wondering what to say, what to do next.

Finally Jack spoke.  "Could I come in and wash my hands, this stuff is really gooey."

"Sure."

He entered the apartment that felt like home and used the sink.  "I'm, um, starved how about you?"

"I could eat."  It was only two in the afternoon.

"Great, I'll make us dinner."

It was then that a thought came to her.  "Jack you need to go back to work, some people will be curious where you are."

He reasoned that she was correct.  "Okay, I will but I'll be back tonight for dinner.  I don't want you touching that stove with your injury."

"Sounds good."  She couldn't stop smiling. 

As he was leaving he turned to her and asked, "Is your eye still painful?"

"I don't feel pain right now," Sam said.  No eye drops had cured that, one man's love had.

He started off.

"Jack."

He looked back at her.

"I'll see you soon."

"Count on it."

The end.


End file.
